


let me live this fantasy

by hexmionegranger



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Background Pansy Parkinson/Hermione Granger, F/M, alternately: blinderella, written for hprarepairnet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 23:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9293504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexmionegranger/pseuds/hexmionegranger
Summary: Once upon a time, in a Kingdom far, far away, there lived a charming but lonely prince. Blaise Zabini needed to find a bride - preferably a princess from a neighbouring kingdom. Instead, he meets a fiesty redhead with a mysterious past, who has absolutely no idea who he is.





	

**Author's Note:**

> _and baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule_  
>  let me live that fantasy  
> \- Royals, _Lorde_

_Once upon a time, in a Kingdom far, far away, there lived a charming but lonely prince…_

“Sir,” the young man pressed, trying to regain the interest and attention of the tall dark-skinned Prince sitting in front of him. “It really is imperative that you find someone to marry. Without a bride, you-” 

“Theo.” The man spoke, finally. His voice was bored, nearly flat, and he lounged a little further across the throne he would soon inherit. “I’ve met a dozen princesses from a dozen different kingdoms. Do you know what they had in common?” 

Theo sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. If Blaise hadn’t been one of his best friends since childhood, he would have quit years ago. The man was  _insufferable_ , but one day he would rule the entire kingdom, and someone had to at least try and advise him in the right direction. “Riches? Beauty? Childbearing hips?” 

Blaise rolled his eyes and glanced back down at his fingernails, frowning slightly and rubbing at the edge of one with his thumb. “They were all absolutely, incredibly  _dull_. Couldn’t stop simpering and giggling and batting their eyelashes at me.”

“What about Pansy?” Theo tried again, starting to feel rather desperate. If Blaise did not marry before his mother married her latest potential husband, he could lose his right to the throne – permanently. And whoever got it instead would be far worse at the job, that could be nearly guaranteed. For all Blaise was, at the very least he would make a good King. “You could marry her and the two of you could be quite happy-”

“Her girlfriend would simply never forgive me, Theo. And  _I_  am not one to incite the wrath of Hermione Granger. Or would you like to suggest to her that she should simply pretend to be straight to win over our subjects? Because let me tell you-”

“Right. You’re right.” Theo cut him off once more, and Blaise narrowed his eyes but did not say anything. “Pansy is out of the question. Let’s have a ball.” He suggested, and finally Blaise perked up at the suggestion. “We shall invite all of the maidens in the land, and all of the princesses from as far out as our pigeons will reach. And perhaps, when you meet a princess amidst all of the commoners, your opinion will be slightly different.”

Blaise nodded and sat up, just slightly. “Very well then, Theo. Call Pansy, have her organize the whole thing. It will make her week. And have my horse prepared. I would like to go for a ride.”

Theo nodded, and turned, and left Blaise alone with his thoughts once more.

* * *

“Leave her alone!”

Blaise pulled his horse to a stop as he heard a voice through the trees. He glanced backwards towards Theo who had insisted on coming for a ride with him (one of the worst parts about being the prince, he had decided long ago, was that he was never allowed to go anywhere alone) and raised a brow. 

“Hey! I said  _leave! Her! Alone!_ ”

Then he heard a shout that sounded like it came from a male, and footsteps, and then two boys broke through the trees and ran past him, one holding a hand up to slow the flow of blood from his nose. Blaise watched them go and then slid down from his horse, tossing the reigns to Theo before heading in the direction the boys had run from through the trees. 

There, he found two girls. One was sitting on the ground, blonde hair covering her face and her shoulders shaking. The second was on her knees, her bright red hair pulled back into a bun behind her head, rubbing her hand in circles on the blonde’s back. 

“There, Luna, it’s okay. Don’t worry. They’re gone now.”

The blonde glanced up at her friend and Blaise thought he saw a smile pull at her lips, and then the girl turned and looked right at him. He froze. There was something in her steely blue glare that he couldn’t quite look away from.

“What do you want?” That same voice snapped again, and he looked over to the redhead who was pushing herself to her feet. “Are you one of their friends? Planning on trying to hurt her too?” She was pushing her sleeves back and she stepped up to Blaise, glaring up at his face from her position nearly a foot below him. Despite the height difference, she still looked rather intimidating. “Because, I swear, I’ll punch you too-”

Blaise lifted his hands to indicate he meant no harm, and shook his head. “Whoa there. I’m not here to laugh at anyone. I was just passing through the forest when I heard a commotion and thought I’d see if everyone was alright.” 

The redhead scoffed and turned away from him, returning to her friend’s side. “Well,  _clearly_ we’re fine. Goodbye.”

Blaise blinked twice at the girl, waiting to see if she would figure it out. He had come out riding in his plain clothes, nothing to indicate his position. But still! All of the women in the castle knew who he was! How  _dare_  she! “Do you know who I am?” He asked, incredulous.

The girl didn’t look back. “Don’t care.” She said, as she helped her friend to her feet. “Some noble asshole with a hero complex. Frankly, I’ve had far enough of  _your_   _type_.”

“I’m-” He paused then, and for reasons he still hadn’t quite figured out, smiled. “Blaise. Not a noble, a… merchant’s son.” He lied, not wanting to reveal himself quite yet. “Look, it’s starting to get dark. My s- my friend Theo and I have our horses. We could give you ladies a ride back home, at least?”

She sighed once more and turned, looking him up and down. Then the girl turned her attention back to her friend, who had her arms wrapped around herself and still hadn’t said much. Clearly she’d been hurt in some way, and the redhead warred with herself for a minute before she sighed and nodded. “Fine. This is Luna,” She introduced, and Luna glanced up to smile softly in Blaise’s direction. “And I’m Ginny. We don’t live far.”

* * *

Ginny was right. It wasn’t a long ride, with Luna on the back of Theo’s horse and Ginny on his. They dropped the blonde off first, and then carried on through the woods to where Ginny indicated she lived. They spoke on the trip, and Blaise found himself genuinely smiling for the first time in a long time. Ginny didn’t say much about herself, but she was clearly no princess – anyone could tell that from her robes. But she was a kind friend, a courageous person who had no problems with punching anyone who dared to hurt her friends. She was funny, and sharp as a tack.

And Blaise was captivated.

And Ginny, it seemed, was captivated too. They stood outside her house for nearly two hours, petting his horse and chatting. Blaise skirted around the prince thing for reasons he still couldn’t quite determine, other than that it seemed like the right move at the time. Ginny didn’t say much about herself or her life either, no matter how much he pushed, and finally someone had called for her and she’d flashed him a stunning grin before disappearing inside the house.

The day of the ball arrived, and Blaise couldn’t help himself. He scanned the crowd constantly, waiting for Ginny’s red hair to point her out to him. 

But she wasn’t there.

“Theo,” He hissed, tugging his friend and handy servant a little closer. “Where’s Ginny?”

Theo shrugged. “Not sure. She isn’t exactly a princess, Blaise. You really need to-” 

“I don’t  _give a shit_. I want to see her.” He paused, tapped his fingers against his lips. “Send Pansy to her house. If anyone can get the girl to the ball, she can.”

Theo groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Blaise.” Blaise shot him a look and he rolled his eyes but continued. “ _My lord_. I know she was pretty, mate. But you have to drop it – you need to marry a  _princess_ -” 

Blaise lifted a hand and Theo stopped talking, following the direction Blaise’s eyes had turned in. There she was. Not particularly tall, it was still easy to spot the girl through the crowd thanks to her mane of flaming red hair. She looked stunning in a diamond encrusted ball gown, and she stood awkwardly near the door she had entered from. Blaise pushed himself off his chair and crossed the room in large steps until he was standing directly in front of her. 

“Ginny.” He said, grin breaking across his face.

“Blaise.” She responded, smiling back. Then she glanced around the room and frowned slightly. “Why is everyone staring at us?” She whispered, leaning a little closer to the tall man. She hadn’t noticed yet that he was dressed regally with golden buttons down his jacket. 

Blaise shrugged and reached for her hand. “Hard not to look at the most beautiful girl in the room.” He suggested, and then pulled her onto the dance floor.

* * *

Later, after dancing for nearly an hour, they stood out on the balcony to breathe in some fresh air.

“You’re not a princess, are you?” Blaise asked, turning his body to face hers and trying to ignore the fact that he could feel Theo’s eyes boring into the back of his head.

Ginny sighed and shook her head. “I’m a scullery maid.” She admitted, looking down at her dress nearly wistfully. “My family, well. I’m the youngest child, you see. And the only daughter. And my parents tried, they did, but they just couldn’t afford all of us. So my aunt Muriel took me in, promised to look after me and love me just as they would have done…” 

“So why are you her maid?” Blaise pressed, stepping slightly closer to the girl who now had fire flickering in her eyes. 

“Because she’s an awful mean old witch who only wanted free help.” Ginny nearly snapped, and then she sighed. “I don’t usually complain. It was so… lovely of her to take me in.”

Blaise nodded, and opened his mouth to ask something but Ginny was still speaking. 

“And you lied too, didn’t you?” She asked, raising a brow at him and pressing one of her fingers against his chest. “You’re no merchant’s son. You’re a noble.”

Blaise couldn’t help but grin down at her and step just a little closer. He could feel her breath against his face now, and he could nearly hear her quick-beating heart – or perhaps that was his own. “No. I’m no merchant’s son.” He admitted, and then the clock began to chime.

Ginny gasped. “I have to go. I shouldn’t even be here. My aunt, she didn’t allow me to come. But this beautiful girl showed up with a dress and a carriage… but I can’t stay past midnight-”

Blaise caught her arm before she could go and tugged her back to him. “Ginny,” he murmured, catching her attention once more with the low rumble of his voice. “How would you like to never go back to Muriel’s house again?”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Obviously that would be amazing. But it’s just not-”

“I think we could make her listen, don’t you? A letter from the future King ought to do it.” 

She couldn’t help it, she snorted in response. “Oh, sure. She couldn’t say no to that, could she? But how on earth could you get something like that? Blaise. I… I’m so glad I met you. I had such a lovely time, dancing with you tonight and getting to know you. But I really do have to go.”

Blaise grinned down at her, leaned closer. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close and she sighed, instinctively, against his body.

“Trust me.” Blaise whispered, and then pressed his lips against hers. When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers and took in her blown pupils, the colour flushed across her cheeks. “It can definitely be arranged.” Blaise lifted his hand then, and wiggled his fingers slightly. The light pouring onto the balcony from the ball caught on something on his hand and Ginny grabbed his fingers and pulled his hand closer to her face. 

There, perched on his right ring finger, was a large golden ring. Except, it was more than a ring, because etched across it was the royal seal - a large snake curled around a sword, almost grinning up at her. Ginny glanced back up at him, searching his face, and he grinned down at her as it all clicked into place.

“But you… you’re… you didn’t…”

Blaise winked once down at her, feeling smooth and charming and he puffed out his chest as he grinned even more broadly. “At your service.”

 _And so, our Prince finally met his Princess._ _Despite her lack of royal patronage,_ _Blaise determined that he had quite enough royal blood for both of them to share. Aunt Muriel lost her scullery maid and Ginny was able to send enough money home to support her family for the rest of all of their lives._

_**The End.** _

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [hprarepairnet](hprarepairnet.tumblr.com) get to know our members challenge. If you're not already following us (or [me](hexmionegranger.tumblr.com)) on tumblr, you should do that - we would really appreciate it!
> 
> I originally planned for this to be a longer fic, but I'm really happy with the way it all came out. Hope you enjoyed!


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